Hoosier State Today

There were less than 10 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Indiana during the week ending August 28, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 28, there were 1,450 deaths in the state. 20.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.6 percent were from cancer and 26.5 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7 percent of deaths were from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Studies show doctors and medical examiners may underreport Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related conditions as the underlying cause of death on death certificates, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Once infected, older adults with dementia are likely to develop a more severe and dangerous illness. The diseases which make an older adult more vulnerable to COVID-19 are age-associated chronic conditions, according to the Bright Focus Foundation.

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21
Heart disease	291	264
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	269	284
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	201	161
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	183	152
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	79	89
Cerebrovascular diseases	56	67
Diabetes mellitus	49	46
Alzheimer's disease	40	41
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	31	24
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	17

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21
Alzheimer disease and dementia	101	112